Page:The History of Slavery and the Slave Trade.djvu/776

 pursue the marauders and protect the neighborhood. At midnight they fell in with a party of armed men and took one hundred of them prisoners without resistance. They were mostly mounted, and heavily armed, and had with them a brass field-piece and several wagons, all of which were captured and taken to Lecompton They were said to be a detachment of forces of General Lane, under command of Captain Harvey, and were on their way from Lawrence to join a large body from Topeka. They had been engaged in an affray at Hickory Point. One of the leaders, on being asked if they had not read the governor's proclamation, wittily replied, "Oh yes, and before we commenced our fire upon the border ruffians, we read the proclamation to them, and commanded them to surrender in the name of the governor." These prisoners were taken to a dilapidated house in Lecompton and guarded by a company of militia under command of Colonel Titus. Here they suffered for the want of food, clothing and bedding; overrun with vermin, and exposed to constant insults from the guards. At the October term of the district court, some were acquitted and others convicted of manslaughter. These were sentenced to terms of confinement varying from five to ten years of hard labor, and to wear a ball and chain. As sheriff Jones had not been permitted by the verdict to hang the prisoners, he was exceedingly anxious to apply the ball and chain, and wrote to Governor Geary that "It is [sic]indipensably necessary that balls and chains should be furnished, and understanding that the same can be procured by your application to General Smith, I will request that you will procure and have them sent over at the earliest day possible." To this application the governor replied that "General Smith has no balls and chains for the purpose—nor is it deemed advisable to procure any." The governor immediately remitted that portion of their sentence requiring the ball and chain, as being "cruel and unusual, and especially inappropriate." The prisoners were subsequently placed under the charge of Captain Hampton, Master of Convicts, an office created by an act of the territorial legislature. They were treated with a kindness and consideration by that generous hearted Kentuckian, which called down upon him the vengeance of the leading members of his party, and his removal by the governor was demanded. The prisoners were subsequently pardoned by Governor Geary.

While the governor was attending to the troubles at Hickory Point, a large army was gathering on the Wakarusa preparatory to an attack on Lawrence. As these men styled themselves the territorial militia and were called into service by Woodson, the governor immediately commanded that officer to take with him adjutant-general Strickler with an escort of United States troops and disband the forces he had assembled. But Woodson discovered that he had raised a storm which he could not control. Mr. Adams, who accompanied Woodson to the camp, sent the following dispatch to the governor:

"Sir: I went as directed to the camp of the militia, and found at the town of Franklin, three miles from this place, encamped three hundred men, with four pieces of artillery. One mile to the right, on the Wakarusa, I found a